Recapturing Broken Backlinks

Explanation & Implementation Guide

Explanation

Broken backlinks occur when external links that once pointed to your Shopify site lead to non-existent or broken pages. These broken backlinks negatively affect your SEO because they result in the loss of valuable “link juice”—the SEO value passed through backlinks. If broken backlinks are not addressed, your search engine rankings may decline, your site’s authority may diminish, and you may miss out on potential organic traffic. To maximize the SEO benefits of backlinks, it’s crucial to identify and recapture broken backlinks, either by restoring the broken pages or redirecting them to relevant existing pages on your site.

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Implementation Guide

Access Ahrefs Backlink Checker:

Go to Ahrefs Backlink Checker.
Input your Shopify site’s URL into the search bar and click “Check Backlinks.”

Enter Your Website’s URL:

Input your Shopify site’s URL into the search bar and click ‘Check backlinks.’

Filter for Broken Backlinks:

Use the “HTTP Code” filter to display backlinks that link to broken pages (with 4xx or 5xx status codes).

Export Broken Backlink Data:

Export the list of broken backlinks for further analysis and action.

Fixing the Issue

Conduct an Audit of Your Backlinks Using Screaming Frog SEO Spider:

Download and open Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
Set up XPath Custom Extraction
- Navigate to Configuration > Custom > Extraction.
- Enter the provided XPath for extracting relevant data from broken links.

XPath for Custom Extraction:

sql
Copy code
//a[contains(@href, ‘screamingfrog.co.uk’)]/@href
//a[contains(@href, ‘screamingfrog.co.uk’)]
//a[contains(@href, ‘screamingfrog.co.uk’)]/@rel

Switch to List Mode:

Select Mode > List from the top-level menu to upload your backlinks.

Access the List of URLs Blocked by robots.txt:

Navigate to Configuration > Spider > Basic tab.
Uncheck Ignore robots.txt and check Show Internal URLs Blocked by robots.txt to view blocked URLs.

Upload Your Backlinks:

Click on the “Upload List” button and choose your preferred method to upload the broken URLs.

Initiate the Crawl:

Click “OK” to start crawling the uploaded list of URLs.

Review the Extracted Data:

Navigate to the “Custom” tab and apply the “Extraction” filter to see the data pulled from the backlink audit.
You can also customize the column layout by dragging and dropping them according to your preferences for easier reference.

Log in to Shopify Admin:
Access your Shopify admin dashboard.

Restore Broken Pages or Set Up Redirects:

If the broken pages still contain relevant content, restore them on your site.
Alternatively, set up 301 redirects to direct users and search engines to relevant, existing pages on your site.

Update Navigation Menus and Internal Links:

Update navigation menus and internal links to ensure they reflect the changes made when restoring or redirecting broken pages.
This ensures a seamless user experience and improves the link structure for SEO.

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